With HP's financial muscle backing them, a multiple carrier, multiple country release is the ONLY way to go. Spread the phone's availability everywhere possible. I, personally, assume that HP will go this route as they have mentioned, on many occasions, their ability to distribute stuff on a global scale. This is what Palm lacked when they launched the Pre.

Had Palm been able to launch the Pre globally, hardware issues not-withstanding, they would have probably sold 5 million+ devices within a couple of months. Instead, they lacked the ability to produce enough to keep Sprint filled during the device's first week of launch, and the Pre Plus was unable to really launch well after that.

With the right launch, they could easily double the ~2.6 million users in just one week. With the right device and availability, they could triple the user base in a month.

+1 A global launch would put them back on the map with a solid device. We were only speculating earlier whether the new CDMA phone meant VZ or Sprint in the US, as we are all so driven purely by self-interest!

I'm sure HP plans to release the phone globally, but expecting it to be simultaneous, or even close, is probably not realistic. Trying to get all the carriers on the same page would be a cat herding nightmare!

I'm sure HP plans to release the phone globally, but expecting it to be simultaneous, or even close, is probably not realistic. Trying to get all the carriers on the same page would be a cat herding nightmare!

It's just, an independent cellphone? Where would stores put it on the shelves! That's the issue. Probably in some back corner, while all the other cellphones on the carriers keep their up front display.

Indeed - the same consumers that complain about the carriers so much won't take any steps to break the chains ... and so the lock-in persists.

-- Rod

Well I'm sure the number of those that buy non-subsidized phones vs. subsidized is astonishing (as in very few pay full price for their phones). Not many are willing to justify $500 for a new phone to not have a contract when they have no real quarrels with their carrier.

That's the real hurdle.

Once these new smart phones become more affordable then we may see the tides turn. Take the Nexus One for example, I generally always buy non-subsidized phones as I jump from carrier to carrier quite frequently, but I wasn't willing to pay $500 for a phone online that I wasn't even afforded the ability to hold in my hand before I dropped half a grand.